Josh helps Somerset Claim Metro Bank derby win
A career-best List A score from Josh Thomas helped Somerset come out on top against Gloucestershire in this Metro Bank One Day Cup derby at The Cooper Associates County Ground.
The 21-year-old made an unbeaten 97 from 66 balls as the hosts claimed victory by 35 runs in front of 5000 delighted Members and supporters.
After winning the toss, Gloucestershire Captain, Jack Taylor invited Somerset to bat first, but the home side made a solid start.
Savin Perera and Archie Vaughan showed good judgement and no shortage of skill and panache as they drove and cut to all parts of the ground to bring up the Somerset 50 after eight overs. By the end of the 10-over powerplay the score had advanced to 63.
The partnership was worth 69 in the 12th over when Perera (19) miscued Daaryoush Ahmed to Graeme van Buuren at mid off to give the visitors the initial breakthrough.
However, Vaughan continued to amass his runs and reached his third List A 50 from 47 deliveries.
Fresh from his 92 against Notts Outlaws on Tuesday, Tom Lammonby arrived at the crease and made his intent clear when he pulled Ahmed into the Somerset Stand for the first six of the innings. The left-hander then took his side to three figures in the 17th over, paddle sweeping van Buuren for four.
The 50 partnership for the second wicket came at a run a ball but Lammonby was given a life when on 31 when Oliver Price spilled a caught and bowled opportunity.
Gloucestershire didn’t have to wait long for the second wicket to fall as Vaughan’s fine innings came to an end with the score on 127. The Somerset opener picked out a diving Will Williams at mid on from the bowling of Taylor to depart for 69.
With the run rate slowing, Lewis Goldsworthy looked to accelerate against Price but picked out Taylor at mid off to depart for nine at 150 for three.
Lammonby achieved his second 50 in as many games from 48 balls, and his seventh four brought up the 50 partnership with Thomas from just 34 deliveries and took Somerset past the 200 mark in the 34th over.
The 26-year-old eventually fell for 83 in the 36th over chasing a short and wide ball from Price which was snaffled by a tumbling Ahmed at third.
Thomas took on the attacking mantle and cleared the rope in the 39th over for a maximum off van Buuren. Charlesworth suffered the same fate when Thomas smashed the first ball of the 42nd over into the Somerset Stand before bringing up his half century later in the over from 37 balls.
The 50 partnership for the fifth wicket arrived from 36 deliveries and a flurry of boundaries took the hosts to 302 at the end of the 44th over.
Van Buuren was brought back into the attack and he accounted for Johnny Connell (33) with the opening ball of the 45th over. He also bowled Kian Roberts (11) at 329 for six in the 47th and had Ben Church (7) caught by Taylor at backward point at 342 for seven in the 49th.
Somerset eventually finished on 352 for seven, the Club’s highest ever List A score against Gloucestershire, beating the previous best of 333 for four in 2008.
The Gloucestershire chase got off to a positive start with 14 runs coming from the opening over, but JT Langridge bowled Cameron Bancroft (0) with the fourth delivery of the second over without further addition to the score.
James Bracey had raced to 32 from 16 balls, but a wicket maiden from Langridge stemmed the flow of runs. The first four deliveries of the sixth over beat Bracey’s bat and the fifth nipped away and found the outside edge. Church did the rest and the visitors were 45 for two.
The Gloucestershire 50 arrived in the eighth over but Josh Shaw found Price’s inside edge and as the ball nestled in Church’s gloves the scoreboard showed 54 for three.
Miles Hammond and Taylor began the rebuild and their 50-run stand arrived from 35 balls. Hammonds own 50 followed shortly thereafter from 35 deliveries.
The score had advanced to 135 when the partnership, which was worth 81, was eventually broken. Hammond picked out Roberts at long off to give Vaughan a wicket at 135 for four.
Taylor (36) fell when he top edged Goldsworthy high into the Taunton sky to enable Thomas to take a simple catch at 137 for five, and when Thomas brilliantly ran out Joseph Eckland (18) the visitors had slipped to 168 for six in the 29th over.
168 for six soon became 181 for seven when Kamran Dhariwal (2) could only find Archie Vaughan on the boundary in front of the Somerset Stand to give Goldsworthy a second wicket.
The visitors refused to throw in the towel, and van Buuren and Ahmed looked to accelerate the run rate. Their half century stand for the eighth wicket came from just 38 balls.
Van Buuren went to 50 from 54 balls and Ahmed achieved the same feat from just 28 deliveries as Gloucestershire began to turn the tide of the match in their favour.
Just when it looked like the bragging rights were heading up the M5, Shaw claimed two wickets in two balls to leave the visitors reeling. At the start of the 43rd over the scoreboard was displaying 291 for seven. By the end of the over it showed 292 for nine.
Ahmed was bowled for 52 to eventually end the partnership with van Buuren which was worth 110, Gloucestershire’s highest ever eighth wicket stand in List A cricket, and then Williams was trapped lbw without scoring.
Gloucestershire had advanced to 317 in the 48th over when Charlesworth chipped Langridge to Lammonby and Somerset secured the local bragging rights.
